Blast Rips Through Minneapolis Apartment Building

Crews battle a Minneapolis apartment fire on Wednesday. The billowing fire engulfed a three-story building, sending 14 people to hospitals with injuries ranging from burns to trauma associated with falls.

Jeff BaenenAP

Originally published on January 2, 2014 6:03 am

Update at 6:34 p.m. ET: 14 Reported Injured

Minnesota Public Radio reporter Tim Nelson says 14 people are reported to have been injured, six in critical condition, in the blast and have been taken to area hospitals.

The building housed about 10 apartments, and MPR reports that the Salvation Army and Red Cross are helping those affected by the fire with housing and other needs.

Thirteen people were injured after an early morning explosion and major fire at a Minneapolis grocery store and apartment building, the Star Tribune reports.

Video footage of the fire, reported at about 8:15 a.m. in south Minneapolis, showed thick plumes of smoke as firefighters struggled to battle the blaze amid below-zero temperatures.

Robert Ball of Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services tells the Associated Press that the victims, some injured critically, were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from burns to trauma associated with falling or jumping from windows.

There have been no reports of deaths, according to Ball, and it's unclear whether everyone in the building has been evacuated because it's still too dangerous for firefighters to sweep through the premises.